The Process of Forming and Managing Virtual Teams (Essay Sample)

Forming and Managing Virtual Teams
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Forming and Managing Virtual Teams
Virtual Teams
Virtual teams are currently a hot topic in business. With the rapid growth in technology, corporations have shifted into this new style of workgroup because individuals can exchange ideas and implement decisions even in various geographical areas. This factor has minimized the lack of professionalism since experts can operate and make decisions on the business's essential matters even if not present at the workstation. Moreover, virtual teams also support communication, ensuring that the entire workforce is on the same point towards its objective. Nevertheless, despite the benefits involved, its implementation poses significant challenges; thus, preventive measures and policies must be implemented for successful organizational performance. This paper will focus on building a virtual team for Cerveza Quilmes Company and analyzing the efficient communication networks for the group to work effectively.
An Overview Cerveza Quilmes
Cerveza Quilmes is an Argentina brewing firm founded in 1888 by Otto Bemberg. Currently, AmBev owns 91 percent of its stock, while QUINTA owns 9 percent (Mena et al., 2016). The firm is based in Quilmes and has seen immense development since its inception, making it more of a national landmark due to its 75% of shares in beer in the Argentina market. Because of the growing demand for the firm's products, it had increased the number of plants by 2005. Moreover, the corporation started exporting its goods to other countries such as the US, France, and Italy. Now, its yearly alcohol sales equal to seventeen million hectoliters while its soft drinks are eight million hectoliters. Following such achievement, the company's board decided to give back to society by funding the national football team and its jersey logos.
Assumptions about hypothetical Virtual Team
The virtual team will comprise seven individuals from various parts of the world. The reason for choosing members from different geographical regions is to ensure that an individual represents each continent to increase global diversity and exchange ideas from various parts of the globe. Argentina, China, Norway, South Africa, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada are the virtual team members' geographical positions.
Purpose and Objectives
As a multinational organization, Cerveza Quilmes requires a critical team to define and analyze consumer demands worldwide. The virtual team's goals are to enhance business decision-making and provide the organization's best products and investment ideas. Furthermore, the virtual group can generate reports on consumer demands in their regions and address those needs to optimize them. The organization applies a moderated judgment that can be replicated in various areas worldwide. Also, the team can provide the firm’s management with information about current brewery problems so that they can be addressed during production.
Team Make-up
I chose team members with diverse backgrounds and personalities to improve team cohesion and the virtual team's seamless flow. As the leader and a long-term worker of the firm, I selected two group members to ensure a smooth flow in the group. Reason being that they are open and friendly which would benefit the team by having a positive social environment (Krumm et al., 2016). Besides, I selected two participants with a forceful personality to question the majority's proposals while still providing solutions that can lead the team to the right decisions. Besides, I have selected one proficient team member because he is very experienced and can give the team essential updates. I also picked an achiever because his behavior and ideas are result-oriented. This participant would be beneficial to the virtual team since they can use his imagination to develop better solutions to implement in the organization and increase team productivity.
A straw case communication plan
Communication is a critical factor in any organization or team (Brake, 2015). As the team leader, I am aware of the difficulties a language barrier poses in a multilingual team. Consequently, I have devised methods for addressing this obstacle, including artificial intelligence, to understand the language and thoughts of virtual team members who originate from diverse cultural backgrounds and do not inherently comprehend each other's native tongue. I have also prepared some techniques to enhance communication and make information sharing among members easier. Graphics, documentation, messages, and phone communications are among the communication channels I have chosen to use. Teleconferencing and video conferencing using tools such as Skype can be utilized to improve social reinforcement in simulated team meetings.